"Blacken the sky Can't stand to see the sun The truth of light Reveals the hatred that has won" – I Saw The End by Pallbearer

Who likes listening to the radio and all of the garbage that they play in the morning? Your answer better not be “I do”. If you want something more, if you want a good variation of music then Monday Morning Mayhem is here for you. The first three installments can be found here as well as at this location at the third will be here. This is the fourth installment which will hopefully help you have a better Monday. So drink some strong coffee and headbang the day away!

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The first band that will help you shake the cobwebs loose on a Monday morning is Swamp Ritual.They mainly will help shake the webs loose because of their fuzzed out distorted riffs. Hailing from Montana, Swamp Ritual play an incredibly fuzzy brand of doom and stoner rock. This is their first full length titled Ritual Rising which features six songs. It’s pretty cliche to say that a band takes you on a trip now, but Swamp Ritual does their best to take you to the outer reaches of space and back. They have an almost relaxing calm vibe about them. While listening you never feel bombarded with noises, riffs or anything for that matter. Swamp Ritual is fluid, groovy, very heavy and the skull numbing riffs are an undeniable force. Swamp Ritual ladle out groovy silky smooth riffs as if they were going out of style. In the midst of these fuzz lined riffs are some great guitar solos, an incredibly thick bass, and almost hypnotic vocals. Swamp Ritual switches from cranium rattling doom to groovy and funky stoner rock with ease. They mix these two elements in their swamp water very well to create a murky and thick sound. This debut shakes, shivers, grooves and slithers all over the place and is certainly an album that knows how to make you get up and move.

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Having some eye catching artwork is always a must, and Cartilage certainly nailed it with theirs. And just by looking at the art work you can almost conclude that you will be in for quite the ride, and if that is what you concluded then you would be right. Starting the three track release off with Cannot Stop the Clot you are immediately pile driven back into your seat and forced to hold on for your life. Each song is gore soaked, blistering, brain flaying and an organ cooking good time. I’d have to assume experiencing brain trauma isn’t very fun, but when you get to headbang having your brain bounce around in your skull until your head falls off; now that sounds like the kind of brain trauma that you would want. Nothing here at all is sugar coated, in fact it is entrail and viscera coated. Cartilage is such a sonic assault that there is quite literally nothing you can do to prepare yourself. The riffs are massive and as brutal as you would like them to be, the drumming is blistering and pummeling and the vocals are throat shredding as they bounce around from very crusty shrieks to devastating gutturals. Once you stumble upon It’s Necrotic and happen to listen to it, you’re in for the long haul as there is no escaping, and there is no denying that this is one fuck of a listen. The musicianship and talent that they display is tremendous, the vocalist seems to rip is throat out every track and each song is just as bloody and blasphemous as the one that came before.

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The Clearing Path is a one man band hailing from the depths of Italy. Watershed Between Earth and Firmament is a blistering six track album. It is dark, thought provoking, bleak and incredibly noisy, but more than all of that it is a good listen. The songs are long, but before you know it you’ve ran through each of them and you’re ready for another go around. The overall sense that you do get from this release is the bleakness and the brooding darkness, but more than that you get something that is entirely emotional as well. All of the elements that have already been listed create an interesting and unique listen. Not everything on this album is a blistering assault of black metal as the music does slow down at parts to create a sense of atmosphere, and for the majority of the time that atmosphere is almost depressing that is tinged with a sense of anger and hate. As the serpentine riffs lash out, the drums pound away at your soul and the vocals shred your ears. The vocals on Watershed Between Earth and Firmament are of the typical banshee screech variety that is so well known in black metal. Overall, this release gives you the normal staple of black metal as well as a different more emotional side of the genre as well which creates for a great overall sound and listen.

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Everyone needs some thrash in their life, and Inkvisitor is here to supply a healthy dosing of that for you. Inkvisitor hails from Finland and Doctrine of Damnation is their debut album. Doctrine of Damnation features ten blazingly fast and relentless songs. Inkvisitor seems to be here for one reason, and that reason is to have you headbang until your little heart is content, and they do exactly that. They make you get up and move, mosh around, twist your neck in a thrashing frenzy. As a genre, thrash has always seemed about having fun more than anything. Yes a lot of thrash bands touched on politics among other global issues, but overall it has been about having fun, and Doctrine of Damnation is exactly that. Each track sports great riffs, a thick bass line, solid and acrobatic drumming, and the vocals are that great balance between a shout and a gravely yell. Inkvisitor throw in great finger flaying guitar solos as well to hold true to that thrash attack tradition of having blazing solos. This is the type of album that you would throw on to go speeding down the highway with. Doctrine of Damnation is meant for any thrash fan or metal fan for that matter. It is a fun and great headbanging listen, one that is sure to get the blood pumping.

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That concludes this weeks Monday Morning Mayhem, I hope this list as well as the others provide you with enough fire to keep you going during the dreadful Monday and always remember to keep it metal.